According to recent research, October is a costly month for insurance companies, both in terms of property and of motor claims. It seems that, for a minority of people, Halloween and Bonfire night prove a golden opportunity for anti-social and downright malicious behaviour.

The practice of trick or treating, which originated in America, has become more and more popular in the UK in the last twenty or so years but the jocular threats to cause mischief have become more and more serious and insurance companies have reported claims for broken windows, a wall being overturned and other damage to property caused by missiles such as broken eggs.

Police in various parts of the country have become involved in campaigning, along with schools and other bodies, to get the message across to youngsters that this is unacceptable and could lead to criminal charges.

A week later comes Bonfire night and sadly, this too is seen as a chance by some to wreak havoc, with resultant claims for damage caused by fireworks being put through letter boxes, and property such as fencing being used on bonfires.

According to statistics from AXA the most costly week of the year for insurers is Oct 30th to 5th Nov, with Halloween claims being over two and a half times as high as an average day and those for Bonfire night being three and a half times as high.

With the clocks going back this weekend many of us will be driving home from work in the dark and this is partly the reason why Oct is the costliest month for motor insurers too. As we adjust not only to the darker evenings but to the changing weather conditions too, claims made in Oct are one and a quarter times as high as an average month, according to Virgin Money.

Mortgage lenders and insurers have been ordered to pay back £60 million to their customers for unfairly increasing the premiums of their mortgage PPIs (Payment Protection Insurance).

The demand was made by the FSA (Financial Services Authority), which applied a huge amount of pressure after deciding that the premium rises and the changes to policies had been unfair on customers.

Mortgage PPIs are designed to cover a customer’s mortgage repayments if he or she cannot make them due to redundancy or illness. However, as the recession took hold and more people were being made redundant and therefore making more claims on their insurance, the industry appeared to increase premiums and reduce the level of cover.

According to Which?, about 1 million people are set to benefit from the recent decision.

As well as forcing the insurers to make refunds where necessary, the FSA has also demanded that they reinstate any cover that was reduced unfairly over the last year. They will also be forced to freeze premiums and the level of cover for the rest of the year.

If a customer cancelled their insurance within two months of changes being made as a result of the higher costs or reduced cover, then the insurers are now required to reinstate the policy. In the future, insurers will also have to make it very clear when the contract allows them to make future changes so that mortgage PPI cannot be mis-sold.

Any customers set to benefit will be contacted by the insurers directly, and it is expected that the refunds will all be made by next June.

With unemployment figures having recently reached a 14 year high and predictions of worse to come, there are many families feeling the full effects of being out of work. Losing your job is bad enough but if you have been clutching at straws, trying to find a positive to the experience, you may well think that spending much more time at home than normal must make your house less attractive to burglars. Sadly though, your home insurer is unlikely to reward you for this state of affairs, since they deem you yourself to be more of an insurance risk than a burglar.

Insurers are only too aware that when someone spends a lot of time at home, the risk of accidental damage such as spillages, fires and flooding, increases. They also fear that policy holders who become unemployed, will look at their finances and decide to default on insurance premiums rather than on rent or mortgage payments. These risks to the insurance company will of course be reflected in the premium.

Confused.com have warned people that should they have the misfortune of becoming unemployed they should notify their insurance company immediately. The good news is that any increase in premium is likely to be applied only when you come to renew your policy rather than straight away.

Darren Black of Confused.com stressed the importance of keeping up payments on insurance premiums, saying that as soon as a payment was missed, the policy was put at risk, meaning that should disaster strike you may well find yourself uninsured and having to pay the repair bills yourself.